


What’re we having?

by foxymoley



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Blind Date, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 12:20:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16017803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxymoley/pseuds/foxymoley
Summary: Castiel has a terrible blind date but a case of mistaken identity makes it all worth while.





	What’re we having?

**Author's Note:**

> This is simply a little bit of fluff inspired by an episode of Castle wherein the protagonists neglect their dates in favour of solving the crime.
> 
> Written for the meet-cute square on my spnfluffbingo card.
> 
>  
> 
> (Thank you to Cass, JJ, Nads, Enma, Miggs and Crypto for your beta'ing, cheerleading and for correcting my Britishisms!)

"Remind me why I'm doing this again?" Castiel asked, sighing, as he ran his hand down his tie to smooth it out. He bit back his annoyance as Hannah fussed with his collar.

Hannah moved on to brush imaginary lint off the shoulders of his navy jacket. "Because Zeke is a stupidly hot detective and you're lonely as fuck, Cassie." 

"Oh. Right." Lonely as fuck. His sister had hit the nail on the head. It had been years since he had been on a date, let alone gotten laid. He hoped this Zeke was all Hannah said he was. Tall, dark, and handsome, but a bit of a workaholic—not that that mattered since Castiel himself was too. Hannah had hit on him at the gym, only to be let down gently. She had laughed about it with Castiel after, saying how spectacularly her gaydar had failed. The two remained friends, and even though Hannah’s assured him Zeke isn’t too much of a meathead, he’s not sure he believes her.

"How do I look? Fancy enough for Le Fou de la Blah?" 

"It's Le Cou Cou, and you should be happy you’re going there at all. It’s not like you could get in there normally. Apparently Zeke knows the sanitation and recreation inspector or something." She retied his tie to resemble a proper knot, then stepped back, giving him an appreciative nod as she looked at him. "Right, you’re all set. The reservation is at 7. Good luck!" She practically pushed him out their front door, then stood and waved him off, presumably to ensure he actually got in the cab waiting for him, rather than sneaking back into the house like the recluse he was. 

 ———————————————————————

Dean 6:52 pm: Why did I let you talk me into this? 

Jodes 6:53 pm: Because she’s gorgeous, smart and strong, not to mention the best detective I’ve ever had, and you are, as you said yourself, "lonely as fuck." Now buck up. 

Dean 6:53 pm: Yeah, ok. 

Dean checked his watch again. He was always early to these types of places; not on purpose, but as some sort of cosmic punishment to keep him out of his comfort zone. 

Jodes 6:54 pm: Are you there yet? Umm, I'm sorry Dean, but Donna and her partner are still here. I'm going to go kick her in the ass. She'll be ten minutes tops, I swear. 

Dean huffed. Great start, Jodes. It was only five minutes until their reservation at seven but he felt uncomfortable sitting alone, especially in his unfamiliar suit and tie. 

Dean 6:55 pm: I'm not going anywhere, don't worry about it.

Jodes 6:55 pm: Thanks Dean. 

 

He drummed out a Zep solo on the bar to pass the time, earning him a dirty look from the mixologist. He smiled apologetically, but couldn't help thinking that an average bartender wouldn't give a shit. 

He sipped his IPA as he watched the door, on the lookout for a pleasant blonde woman. A very attractive man, with messy dark hair and piercing blue eyes entered the bar next and Dean swallowed harshly.

The man looked around the bar, frowning, but upon seeing Dean his face brightened and only grew friendlier as he approached, hand outstretched even though Dean was about six feet too far away for a handshake. It was, frankly, adorable. Dean checked behind him to make sure the man's beeline wasn't aimed at someone else, but when he saw no one he stood to shake the gorgeous stranger’s hand. 

"Umm, hi? Do I know you?" The man flushed a deep pink. Guess not. 

"You aren't Zeke."

It wasn't a question, but Dean answered with a shake of his head anyway. "Blind date?" 

"Yes, and if you're not him," he paused, a deeply disappointed look flickering across his face, "I shall have to wait for him here." They finally released hands as he took a seat at the bar, tapping his fingers distractedly as he scanned the menu.

"Castiel."

"Huh?" Dean was too busy staring at the beautiful profile beside him to parse what the word meant. "What?" 

"Castiel. It's my name. I figured you'd want a name to go with who you're staring at." The man, Cas-ti-el, said it with a smirk, but then looked down shyly, blushing again. Yup, fucking adorable. 

"Hey Cas, I'm Dean." He stuck his hand out, belatedly realising they had already done this part. Castiel didn't seem to have a problem with doing it again though, if his small smile was anything to go by. "Can I get you something?"

Castiel raised a (very sexy) eyebrow.

"You're buying me a drink while waiting for someone?"

Ah, he had a point. Not terribly classy, Dean. He rushed to explain himself. "It’s a blind date, and apparently they're running a bit late." Dean looked at his watch. Five minutes late wasn't that bad, he thought. He wondered how long they would hold their table.

Castiel mimicked him and frowned. "He's late." He pulled out his phone just as it pinged. "He's stuck at work. Great start, huh?"

"Well, we'll just have to keep each other company for a bit,” Dean said, not the least bit put out by the idea of that. “What do you do?"

Dean noticed that Cas wouldn't look him in the eye when he answered. "I'm an accountant. Well, an actuary. Not hugely exciting I'm afraid." Dean was surprised he was embarrassed, as there was a lot of money in finance. Why wouldn't he want people to know? He frowned, and Cas answered his unspoken question. "Im sorry, I'm not proud of what I do. Wall Street is a mess right now and anyone who has anything to do with money is a bit of a pariah in the circles I happen to enjoy." He leaned forward, looking around surreptitiously before whispering, "I'm a dirty liberal" It took Dean a second to get the joke, but once he did he threw his head back and guffawing too loudly in the cosy bar. Cas grinned at him, obviously thrilled that the quip landed successfully. "What about you, Dean, what do you do for a living?" 

"Well, for money, I'm an engineer, but, you know, the boring desk kind. For fun, I'm a mechanic slash sculptor. I, umm, like to build moving pieces like turbines and chimes out of scrap... What's fun for you Cas?"

 ———————————————————————

Before Castiel could answer, the hostess called for Keel. He was overcome with a wave of disappointment at the prospect of leaving Dean to go and make nice with someone else. 

"That's Zeke, I should go..." He shook Dean’s hand again firmly. "It was very nice meeting you."

Dean looked at him somewhat sadly.

"Likewise Cas. Catch you later."

Cas nodded, despite having not exchanged contact information. "Yes, see you later Dean." 

Cas hurried to follow the hostess to a table occupied by—who he hopefully assumed correctly this time—Zeke. The man already seemed distracted, frowning at his phone and glancing around the room. Once he noticed Cas approach, he stood and rushed around to pull out his chair. 

"I'm sorry I was late. We're working a case and, well, you know how it is." Castiel didn't, but he nodded sympathetically anyway.

Zeke laid his phone face up on the table. It instantly lit up and he peered at it, suddenly looking toward the entrance. Cas turned to see a lovely blonde woman smiling widely at the hostess, waving at Zeke as she was ushered to a table. The woman detoured past their table and greeted Zeke warmly. 

"Long time no see, what are you doing here? And who is this handsome devil?" She had a charming Minnesotan accent and friendly smile, and Cas liked her immediately. He stood awkwardly to shake her hand.

"Donna, this is Castiel. Castiel, this is Donna. She's my partner." 

"Umm, would you like to join us?" Castiel offered politely. 

"Gee, no. I've got a date." She winked theatrically. "She's gone to collect him from the bar. I hope he's not a lush!" She waved her hand to make it clear she was kidding, then turned to watch the hostess bring her date in from the bar. "Whoa!" She nudged Zeke roughly. "Nice." Cas watched Zeke take too long a look at Donna's date before turning to see for himself. It’s Dean. Of _course_ it's Dean. He grinned as he approached their table. 

"Hey Cas, long time no see!"

Donna and Zeke laughed loudly at their new in-joke, leaving Dean bewildered and Cas internally rolled his eyes. Dean eventually turned to Donna, smiling warmly before introducing himself.

"Shall we?" Dean asked.

Dean and Donna moved to a table across the room, Dean pulling out her chair before taking a seat himself.

Cas tried to put them out of his mind and concentrate on his date. "So Zeke. You're a detective, right? What department?"

Zeke launched into a detailed description of what being a homicide detective entailed. He knew from Hannah that Zeke loved his job so his enthusiasm wasn't a surprise. At least there were no awkward silences. Castiel kept glancing over to Dean’s table, and each time he noticed Donna was looking at her phone while Dean idly stirred his drink or spun his silverware. He took an obscene sort of pleasure in Dean's boredom, but he felt a bit sorry too. Cas signaled to the waitress and ordered more wine, telling her to just leave the bottle. So far his date hadn't noticed his distraction and was even looking at his phone again. He began tapping and Cas saw Donna's phone light up across the room. She looked at it, her head snapping up to stare at Zeke then clearly she excused herself. Zeke did the same, and left to 'use the bathroom.' Dean looked after her with his mouth open then turned to Cas, catching him staring. They both shrugged in unison and laughed. They hadn't even ordered food yet.

Not a minute later, Zeke came back to the table, looking excited. He leaned forward to whisper,

"Sorry about that, break in the case. Maybe. Donna is having the boys run it."

Castiel nodded along, but looked over to Dean again. At their table, Donna was exuding the same excitement, chattering away animatedly. From what Cas could tell, Dean was also nodding along, but perhaps not as politely. He was even going so far as to throw up a borderline sarcastic fingers crossed gesture then rolling his eyes when Donna looked down at her phone again.

Castiel zoned back into his 'date', but because he hadn’t been listening he had no clue what Zeke was talking about. He found he didn’t really care. Castiel poured himself another glass then pointedly perused the menu. A flash of yellow alerted him to Donna suddenly standing, again, excusing herself then speed walking straight over to Zeke. Dean stared at all three of them incredulously, shook his head and flagged down a waitress, presumably for a bottle of his own. Castiel merely sat back, glass in hand, to watch them discuss the case and finish each other's sentences. It was pretty cute, actually. 

"I'm sorry, Cassie," Zeke said, and Cas balked at the nickname. "Would you excuse us a moment?"

Before Castiel had a chance to respond, Zeke was out of his chair, following Donna to the quiet foyer. Cas sighed and finished his glass in one swig. He motioned to a waiter for the bill but stopped with his hand midair when Dean sat down in Zeke's vacated chair. He stared at him for a beat too long before Dean reached over, clasped Cas' raised hand in his own and lowered it to the table. He didn't let go, simply brushed his thumb across Cas' knuckles and winked. Cas grinned and Dean smirked back at him.

"So, what’re we having?" 


End file.
